Editor’s Note: McKnight’s Long-Term Care News, McKnight’s Home Care and McKnight’s Senior Living are profiling the McKnight’s 2024 Pinnacle Awards honorees daily in April and May. For additional McKnight’s Pinnacle Awards content, visit this page.

Kristen Duell wasn’t satisfied with a successful career that brought her into the C-suite of two healthcare companies.

She wanted, and still wants, to see more women in the C-suite. But she recognizes that to get there, women must remain in healthcare, so realizing that challenge, she created opportunity by founding a nonprofit organization, Inclusion Diversity and Equity Alliance in Leadership for Healthcare — or IDEAL for Healthcare. 

Duell has worked tirelessly to improve home-based care and provide better resources for caregivers. She recognized early on the key role that technology can play in meeting staffing challenges. 

Helping agencies adopt emerging technology and utilize it to benefit them will remain a hallmark of her career, which began as a private-duty caregiver. 

At FirstLight Home Care, Duell supports franchise owners and caregivers while they implement pilot programs. The impact of her focus on using technology to reshape the critical delivery of care and to improve clients’ experiences will be felt industry-wide as she continues on with her mantra to “lift as we rise” and bring others along with her success. 

  • Member of the Outlier Project
  • In 2022, was honored for outstanding leadership by Health 2.0, a conference recognizing healthcare leaders.
  • Was CEO of a Savii, an electronic medical records start-up, helping grow the business from its early days to become a trusted solution for some of the country’s largest providers.

The McKnight’s Pinnacle Awards program is jointly administered by McKnight’s Long-Term Care News, McKnight’s Senior Living and McKnight’s Home Care. Honorees were recognized March 21 at a dinner and awards ceremony in Chicago. Omnicare was the Silver sponsor for the 2024 Pinnacle Awards program. Parker Health Group and Sentrics were event sponsors.